Inuit sculpture collection on display in Winnipeg

A free guided tour of 39 significant works of Inuit sculpture will be offered by the Winnipeg Art Gallery on Feb. 3 at noon. Darlene Coward Wight, the curator of Inuit Art, will conduct the tour. The exhibit is on view until Feb. 15.
 

The sculptures are from the George & Tannis Richardson Collection, which includes the work of 30 artists from 11 communities across the Canadian Arctic, including Nunavut and the region of Nunavik in Arctic Quebec.
 

“Assembled during the 1970s and early 1980s, the collection features well-known artists Lukie Airut, from Igloolik, and Jimmy Arnamissa, from Inukjuak,” said Wight. “Dramatic large-scale pieces include Airut’s depiction of a mother who drops her child from her amautik (parka) after clashing with a muskox, and Arnamissa’s scene of two men loading a kayak onto a kamotik (sled) for overland travel.”
 

Richardson was the first Canadian-born governor of the Hudson’s Bay Company, serving from 1970 until 1982. During his tenure, he travelled throughout the Canadian Arctic and developed an interest in Inuit art, acquiring many pieces by the artists. The collection was donated to the WAG in 2011. 
 

“Each individual carving in our collection has given us and those who visited our home much pleasure. Now they are in a new home where they will continue to be enjoyed by all who visit the WAG’s new Inuit Art Centre,” said Tannis Richardson.